ROBERT C. SCHMITT Hawai'i in the Movies, 1898—1959, Part IV THIS RESEARCH NOTE further amends the lists of feature films made in or about Hawai'i previously published by the Hawaiian His- torical Society. In 1988, the Society issued a monograph describing 120 such motion pictures produced prior to statehood.1 Three years later an addendum listed twelve others, plus further details about three of the films previously cited.2 Three others were added in 1992.3 Here are twenty-six more that have come to the author's attention since then, plus new material on one noted earlier. 1933 Lucky Devils RKO Radio. 3 Feb. 1933; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 60, 64, or 70 min. Dir., Ralph Ince. With Bill Boyd, Dorothy Wilson, William Gargan. Adventure-drama about Hollywood stuntmen. Halfway through the picture, the hero marries and honeymoons in Hawai'i.4 !934 Song of the Islands Palmer Miller and Curtis Nagel for the Hawaii Tourist Bureau. 1934; Hon., NA. Sound, Vericolor (an early two-color process), 40 min. Robert C. Schmitt, an associate editor of the Journal and a frequent contributor to its pages, is a retired statistician for the Hawai'i State Department of Business, Economic Develop- ment and Tourism. The Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 30 (1996) 211 2 12 THE HAWAIIAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY Dir., NA. With Pualani Mossman, Sam Kapu, Ray Kinney, Don Blanding. A travelogue about the Islands, made for the Hawaii Tourist Bureau. The same title was used in a 1942 Betty Grable musical. Four ten- minute travelogues, one each for the major islands, were produced by the same group and also released in 1934. All five films were res- cued from a trash barrel and restored by Lowell Angell for the Bishop Museum in 1992.5 !935 Rocky Mountain Mystery Paramount. 8 Feb. 1935; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 63 or 68 min. Dir., Charles Barton. With Charles "Chic" Sale, Mrs. Leslie Carter, Ann Sheridan, Randolph Scott. A western/mystery, filmed in California. At the end, the hero and heroine marry and set up housekeeping on a ranch in Hawai'i.6 1936 Anything Goes Paramount. 24-Jan. 1936; Princess, 11 March 1936. Sound, b&w, go or 92 min. Dir., Lewis Milestone. With Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charlie Ruggles, Ida Lupino. The Cole Porter musical comedy about entertainers, gangsters, and others aboard an ocean liner sailing from New York to Southampton. Some shipboard background shots were filmed in Honolulu. Reviews of the picture varied widely.7 Charlie Chan at the Race Track 20th Century-Fox. 7 Aug. 1936; Hawaii Theater, 25 Oct. 1936. Sound, b&w, 70 min. Dir., H. Bruce Humberstone. With Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Helen Wood. HAWAI I IN THE MOVIES 2 13 An Australian taking his prize horse to the Santa Juanita Handicap is killed aboard a liner as it approaches O'ahu. Honolulu detective Charlie Chan, investigating, continues with the ship to California. There, Chan foils race track gangsters attempting to fix the race and solves the murder. Although the picture supposedly begins at the Honolulu Police Station, no location shooting is evident. Reviews were mixed.8 High Tension 20th Century-Fox. 17 July 1936; Hawaii Theater, 7 April 1937. Sound, b&w, 62 or 63 min. Dir., Allan Dwan. With Brian Donlevy, Norman Foster, Glenda Farrell. A deep-sea diver takes a risky assignment mending the Honolulu- San Francisco cable, working out of Honolulu, rescuing a buddy underwater, and romancing a brassy writer of magazine adventure fiction. Reviews were generally favorable, although the Star-Bulletin criticized the film's portrayal of Honolulu as a place "where nobody works between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., where people ride about in bullock carts, and where cable company employes reside in a little colony all their own." Obviously filmed elsewhere.9 !937 Charlie Chan at the Olympics 20th Century-Fox. 21 May 1937; Hawaii Theater, 20 June 1937. Sound, b&w, 71 min. Dir., H. Bruce Humberstone. With Warner Oland, Katherine DeMille, Pauline Moore, Keye Luke. Chan investigates the disappearance of an experimental airplane over O'ahu and the murder of its Navy pilot. Leaving Honolulu, he pursues foreign agents by Pan Am clipper, transcontinental aircraft, and the dirigible Hindenburg to Berlin, where "No. 1 son" Lee Chan is competing in the Olympics as a member of the U.S. swimming team. No record of Hawai'i location filming. Reviews were mostly favorable.10 2 14 THE HAWAIIAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY Fly Away Baby Warner Bros. 19 June 1937; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 60 min. Dir., Frank McDonald. With Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane. Reporter Torchy Blane and her fiance, policeman Steve McBride, join a dirigible flight around the world in pursuit of a murderer thought to be aboard. When the airship lands at Honolulu, they unsuccessfully search a suspect's room, then continue on until, at the climax, the slayer leaps to his death trying to parachute from the diri- gible. No record of location filming. Variety's comments were gener- ally favorable; those of the New York Times much less so.11 Think Fast, Mr. Moto 20th Century-Fox. 27 Aug. 1937; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 66 or 70 min. Dir., Norman Foster. With Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck. Kentaro Moto, ajapanese American businessman and amateur detec- tive, pursues jewel smugglers across the Pacific from San Francisco's Chinatown to Shanghai. During a brief layover in Honolulu, Moto's liner is boarded by a mysterious woman. First in a series that eventu- ally reached eight pictures, this picture received generally favorable reviews.12 Nudist Land States Rights (dist). 1937; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 6 reels. Dir., A. Royal Horter. A documentary that begins with scenes of the healthful lifestyles of people in Africa, Bali, Samoa, and Hawai'i, then describes in detail life in an Oregon nudist camp. A review called this film "entirely inof- fensive . entirely moral."13 Renai Hawaii Kooro (Lovers in Hawaii's Paradise) Nikkatsu. 1937; Waikiki Theater, 1 Jan. 1938. Japanese dialogue, b&w, length NA. Dir., NA. With Sugi Kyoji, Hoshi Reiko, Shima Koji. HAWAl'l IN THE MOVIES 215 Kyota and Miyoko, from a small Japanese village, marry despite parental objections and go to Tokyo. There, Kyota rescues a Hawai'i theater man from muggers and as a reward is given an introduction to the man's son, Makihara, in Honolulu. The son arranges a try-out for the couple at the Waikiki Theater, where their act combining classical Japanese dances with the Hawaiian hula is a sensational suc- cess. They return in triumph to Japan, where they receive their par- ents' belated blessing. Shooting began locally in July 1937 and included scenes of Punch- bowl, the Punahou campus, the Waikiki Theater, the docking of the Asama Mara at Pier 11, and Maui and the Big Island. Several local Japanese appeared in supporting roles.14 1938 Hollywood Stadium Mystery Republic. 21 Feb. 1938; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 65-66 min. Dir., David Howard. With Neil Hamilton, Evelyn Venable, Jimmy Walling- ton. Mystery set in Hollywood. At the end, "Bill. suggests [to Polly] they try Hawaii, where they go on their honeymoon."15 Held For Ransom International Film Corp.; dist., Grand National Films. 17 June 1938; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 59 min. Dir., Clarence Bricker. With Blanche Mehaffey, Grant Withers. Kidnapping drama. At its conclusion, "Larry and Betty decide to marry and sail to Hawaii on their honeymoon." Variety called this film "very poor."16 Meet the Girls 20th Century-Fox. 7 Oct. 1938; Liberty Theater, 27 Oct. 1938. Sound, b&w, 60, 66, or 70 min. Dir., Eugene Forde. With June Lang, Lynn Bari, Gene Lockhart, Robert Allen, Ruth Donnelly. 2l6 THE HAWAIIAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY Two young women lose their jobs as entertainers in Honolulu. Broke, they stow away on a San Francisco-bound liner, where they get mixed up with a diamond thief, a gigolo, a hypochondriac, a watch- ful ship's captain, a sailor, and a drunk. Variety panned the picture. No mention of location shooting in the Islands.17 1939 Charlie Chan in Reno 20th Century-Fox. 16 June 1939; Liberty Theater, 23 Sept. 1939. Sound, b&w, 65 or 70 min. Dir., Norman Foster. With Sidney Toler, Ricardo Cortez, Phyllis Brooks, Slim Summerville. When a young Island woman is arrested in Reno on a murder charge, Chan travels to Nevada to defend her. The film begins in the Hono- lulu Police Department laboratory, but was probably shot elsewhere. Reviews were mixed.18 Charlie Chan at Treasure Island 20th Century-Fox. 8 Sept. 1939; Hon., NA. Sound, b&w, 59, 71, 72, or 74 min. Dir., Norman Foster. With Sidney Toler, Cesar Romero, Pauline Moore. Chan is aboard a Pan Am clipper flight from Honolulu to San Francisco when, during a storm, a fellow passenger apparently com- mits suicide. After landing in California, Chan investigates and solves the mystery. This is another of the many movies that take place partly on ships or aircraft en route to or from the Islands. Reviews were mixed.19 1941 Dive Bomber Warner Brothers. Aug. 1941; Waikiki Theater, 14 Nov. 1941. Sound, Technicolor, 130 or 133 min. Dir., Michael Curtiz. With Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, Alexis Smith. HAWAl'l IN THE MOVIES 2 17 A U.S. Navy flight surgeon assigned to a squadron in Hawai'i (and later San Diego) studies pilot black-out during power dives. Mostly filmed at San Diego and Pensacola Naval Air Stations, with a few background shots of Pearl Harbor.